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Tour of duty takes its toll on injured Maria Sharapova

Not yet 21, the triple grand-slam tournament winner has arrived in Florida without her rackets, the victim of a punishing schedule

Neil Harman, Tennis Correspondent

March 28 2008, 12:00am, The Times

The cover of the March issue of Ocean Drive, South Florida’s coffee table glam-rock magazine, has Maria Sharapova clad in black leather perched upon a Harley-Davidson. It is a jaw-dropping image. A pity, then, that just as the ignition is about to be turned on a Masters Series tournament here that has become the epitome of sport and showbiz, her engine has spluttered to a halt.

When the leading players of women’s tennis gathered on the Sony Ericsson Open’s purple welcome mat yesterday, the blonde who has just become the sponsor’s signature client was a long way back in their slipstream, although she had flown from California to show off her injured right shoulder in public.